We can eliminate poverty in the USA

Soooo... you are saying that *work* is *not mandatory*? ....to receive free money from people who *did* work? Nobody is living off a minimum wage job! If you are living off a minimum wage to sustain themselves throughout life, if they are, they deserve that, I can guarantee it. You have to... wait for it... *work* yourself out of poverty. Nobody owes you anything, if you are in poverty, that's because you either did something stupid or you are a lazy bum. This is America, we don't give out free money, this ain't the USSR, we give you *one* thing and *one* thing *only*... that is the *opportunity* to get yourself out of poverty, if we have a shortage of opportunity, call me because *that's* a real problem. :) and surely everyone can pick out my sarcastic bits in there... :D

No billionaire does work. Work gets your hands dirty and makes you sweat. Rich people only collect money made by the people who work for them.

....the distribution of wealth & the inequality is the issue for many in the USA & the UK. 

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out a higher sharing ratio for everyone. There is plenty in the pot, it is the distribution that some find appalling. And the inhumane suffering that 'greed' causes for millions. 

Many people on here commenting by the way, are neither communist, socialist nor in poverty, however they can spot the insanity & inhumanity in a system. 

536 billion, one billion off each billionaire, that is 536,000 million dollars that could help millions less fortunate. 

thanks CR - the same issue is occuring in most capitalist countries: this table illustrates some of the issues of inequality

I dont understand what that table means?

Is it salary per hour, month, year?

Does "actual" mean that an Australian worker is making 93% of what a CEO does but the "ideal" would be if the worker made 8,3% of that the CEO makes?

Soooo.... just to summarize, there are a) poor people in the USA and b) rich people in the USA and so the solution to make poor people not poor is c) steal from rich people. Robin Hood is a folktale for a reason, and you think I am wrong for thinking America isn't a meritocracy? Sure, rich people's kids may have it easier than poor people's kids, deal with it, that's *life*. :) And why and when is it ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever OK in the history of humanity to take from a rich mans money pile and give it to a poor man? Did the rich man steal that poor man's money? Will that claim stand up in a court of law? In both cases, rich people don't need to steal from
poor people, rich stealing from poor people sounds stupid (why don't they rob a rich guy?) and labor unions exist for a reason. In answer to that question, it's not OK, ever. :) I want a be rich someday and I will be and when I do, I will *not* be giving out my hard earned money to the poor. Even if you say only billionaires get their money taken away, that's still wrong, no matter which way you put it, it's a recipe for disaster, you seem to ignore the economic problems that handouts create, just like communism/socialism? Sure there are some very corrupt politicians and bankers who *are* filthy rich but that is no reason to deprive the wealthiest of their wealth, just put the corrupt in jail. :) So my argument is d) there is still plenty of opportunity in America for everyone, rich and poor, it's not equally easy or equally hard for everyone but anyone can make it. :D

And also, I would like to point out something that Ben Carson said a while ago, and I'm paraphrasing but it goes something like 'we shouldn't raise the minimum wage so people can live off the minimum wage but we should instead increase opportunities for people to climb the ladder to better jobs and careers and get out of minimum wage jobs.'

If you took the USA figure for example: 

then the CEO would be making £12,259,894 per year while the worker would be paid just £34,645.

So the CEO is being paid 354 times MORE than the worker, per hr, per week, per month and per year.  

Sure poverty can be eliminated. It takes less than ten percent of the population to produce all of the food, fiber, energy and minerals needed to support the rest of us. Pay the ten percent that we need to work two shares of the total. The rest get one share and can lounge around doing nothing because we don't need them.

We can tweak it as we go along to improve quality of life or respond to population pressues but start with everyone being fed and watered and go from there.

It doesn't matter what Walmart pays. We don't need Walmarts. It doesn't matter what makes people lazy because we assume that the vast majority will do nothing.

It's not stealing. The rich have gotten that way unethically.It's compensation for living in an unfair system.

I also see how I'm-professional this discussion has become, resorting to calling each other sociopaths (you may or may not know what that means but your use of the word is faulty) and calling me greedy because I want to keep my hard-earned money and want to work myself to an early retirement, mansion, and a cruise every year. Oh, how awful of me. :) (sarcasm) I am done here, if anyone wants to help the poor, take all of your savings, all of you extra money, everything you own subtracting your bill payments, food-money, sell the car and the house, carpool and live in an apartment with a roommate, then when you are working your butt off for money that is going down the drain for people in the street, you can see why I personally take a stand against handouts. But you first, do it for a year, then get back with me, tell me how it was, tell me if you would like to continue this existence, and how it benefited the poor, then I will reply to you and give your stance and your arguments another consideration. :) Just my thoughts

How is supporting the poor money down the drain?

"We all share this world equally. When you give to the poor,you are only returning to them a portion of what was rightfully theirs."

St. Ambrose

I don't think that table is right. Make no sense to me a Polish CEO makes a quarter of what a Czech CEO makes.

Or that a Swiss one earns more than a German one. Germany has some enormous companies with super well payed top CEOs that should drag their average up.

So you already did live like that for a year? So you yourself are part of that poor-and-in-poverty group? How noble of you, requesting richer people like myself to just give you money because you had to walk to work, pay rent, etc. I don't curse but turn your cursing to yourself and that would be more true I think, and also turn that year word to the word 'work', go work yourself out of poverty and stop blaming your boss and those who have it better than you. There are greedy pigs out there, that do agree with you, but the world you have constructed around yourself to explain your situation is simply false.

The USA gives out "free money" all the time.  Hell, they pay lots of folks not to work.  Ever hear of the conservation reserve program? 

Flush out your headgear, new guy.

So you are saying that because the US already has welfare programs, we should expand these programs? And this would be funded by either increasing taxes or more spending. Not to mention that welfare, even the welfare we already have, is a drain on a country already swimming in debt. I haven't heard of the conservation reserve program and have no idea what it is/does but if it is a welfare program as you say it is, then it should be dealt with like the other welfare programs. Welfare is the last thing this America needs... that is to say, it does not need welfare at all nor should it want it if it has any sensibility. :)

Nope,it's not welfare,and only the top 1% will pay everyone else will receive a basic income payment. Food,Shelter,Health Care,and Education are human rights and will be met before the wealthy are alowed to keep their ill gotten gains.

So... because you have a billion dollars, the government is obligated to take your money and give it to poor people?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g-5rxFDXW4E

If the government and private welfare foundation have huge fund to spend, it is better be spent on public education. Substandard educational attainment is the major cause of poverty. If poor children are sufficiently educated and trained, there will be reduction in poverty as these poor children would grow up to be productive citizens.